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Little was known about the extent to which methodological limitations and incomplete data affect revenue estimates for cybercriminal groups using the Bitcoin blockchain. A new study conducted by IMDEA Software Institute researchers Gibran Gomez, Kevin van Liebergen and Juan Caballero casts doubt on existing figures on the Bitcoin earnings of cybercriminals. .
of studyentitled “Cybercrime Bitcoin Revenue Estimation: Quantifying the Impact of Methodology and Scope,” Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Securitythe full extent of the economic impact of cybercriminal activity has been revealed.
It is generally accepted that cybercrime proceeds are underestimated due to a lack of coverage of cybercrime campaigns, including the complete set of Bitcoin addresses used to receive payments from victims. I am.
This latest study was able to quantify for the first time just how large that underestimation is. Additionally, research has shown that some estimation methods can significantly overestimate returns and that estimation tools have been implemented to avoid such methodological errors.
The findings come from an in-depth analysis of more than 30,000 payment addresses used by various cybercrime groups engaged in activities such as ransomware, clippers, sextortion, Ponzi schemes, giveaway fraud, and cryptocurrency exchange fraud. Ta.
The main contribution of this study is that the authors were able to quantify for the first time how large the underestimation is. To this end, they analyze DeadBolt ransomware, which encrypts data hosted on internet-connected storage servers.
Researchers were able to identify the complete set of payment addresses belonging to DeadBolt and estimated its revenue at $2.47 million, 39 times more than previous estimates. These results not only shed new light on the scale of cybercrime, but also highlighted the importance of innovative approaches to collecting accurate data in the fight against online criminal activity.
Cryptocurrency payments are widely used by cybercriminals. For example, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, virtual currency was the most reported payment method by fraud victims in 2022, surpassing other payment methods such as credit cards, wire transfers, and bank transfers. Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin dominates, followed by Ethereum, with other cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Cardano lagging further behind.
This research could have significant implications for the cybersecurity and law enforcement communities, providing new perspectives on how to combat cybercrime and dismantle financial networks. This study proves the importance of constantly evolving methodologies and tools in the fight against digital criminal enterprises.
For more information:
Gibran Gomez et al., Cybercrime Bitcoin Revenue Estimation: Quantifying the Impact of Methodology and Scope, Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (2023). DOI: 10.1145/3576915.3623094
Provided by IMDEA Software Institute